stee and k



C. 0. STEE AND K. H. KOLHEDE.

AUTOMATIC TEMPERING MACHINE FOR TOOLS.

APPLICATION man JUNE 10. 1918.

1,3 1 1,722. luteutvd July 29, 1919.

Wi/heww J UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLARENCE ORRIN STEE AND KARLHOLGER KOLHEDE, 0F CERRO DE PASCO, PERU.

AUTOMATIC TEMPEIBJNG-MACHINE FOR TOOLS.

Application filed June 10, 1818.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CLARENCE O. S'I'EE and KARL H. KOLHEDE, citizens of the United States and Denmark, respectively, and residents of Uerro de Pasco, Peru, South America, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Tempering-Machines for Tools, of which the following is a specification.

Our present invention relates generally to the tempering of steel tools or tool steel,

such as rock drillsand the like, our object being the provision of a simple inexpensive apparatus which will automatically release for plunge into a quenching fluid when the .temperature of a tool or section of tool steel placed therein has reached just the desired point, whereby the tempering operations will be uniform and a further ob ect is to rovide an apparatus which will operate efectively and efficiently to the a ve end,

I taking advantage for this purpose, of the magnetic qualities of the material being tempered. v

It is known that steel when heated to a temperature of 1400 Fahrenheit, or higher will have reached and crossed that point known as the critical range, above which steel isnon-magnetic, and inversely, when the steel in cooling recrosses this critical range it regains its magnetic condition. This critical range may of course vary with the carbon content of the steel. It is also'true that steel if quickly cooled at or near the moment when the temperature is at the critical range will take on desired hardness or temper, though susce tible. of adjustment byeither adjustment 0 the machine or apparatus or by a change in the character of the quenching fluid.

Our invention aims at the provision of an apparatus in which a tool or section of tool steel may be placed in a highly heated condition, and may by automatic action of the parts, he released so as to drop within a quenching or tempering fluid at or about the moment it has, in cooling, crossed the critical range, taking advantage for this purpose of.

ing our present invention:

Figure '1- is a side View partly broken away and in section, showing a tool placed therein v With the parts in normal position,

Specificationbf Letters Patent.

Serial N0. 239,227.

and,

Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating the'electrical connections.

Referring now to these figures, our invention proposes an apparatus including a horizontally, disposed main frame 10, bolted or otherwise secured upon any suitable horizontal support generally indicated at 111, and beyond one side of which a forward extension 12 of the main 10 projects, this extenslon having one of the bearings 13 of a horizontal sha t 14, the other or rearbearing 15 of. whlch is supported by the rear portion of the main frame 10.

This shaft 14 projects at its forward and rear ends, respectively, beyond the bearings 13 and 15-, and has secured to its forward end a supporting lever 16, and at its rear end a extend at one side of the frame extension 12,

so that when the shaft 14 is free to rock under the weight of the tool, the latter may freely drop. 7

The apparatus is mounted in connection with the support 11 above a suitable container for any desired tempering fluid, and inasmuch as this container may be of any suitable character, we have not attempted to illustrate the same beyond the more or less diagrammatic illustration in dotted lines in Fig. 2. In placing the tool or tool steel upon the supporting lever 16, the end thereof nearest the main frame 10 comes into engagement with an upright or stop 20, this being the angular extension of a plate adjustably mounted upon the main frame 10, the plate being shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 and being held to the main frame by means of a bolt 21.

In this way the tool is held beyond the,

adjacent edge of the sup ort 11 so as to enable the same to freely rop When shaft 14. is released and permitted to rock inthe desired direction.

At its rear end the main frame 10 has an upright 22 adjacent the lower end 1: which Patented July 29, 1919.

55. a controlled switch 43. The circuit wire 42. leads to one side of the trip coil 30, the other a bell crank lever 23 is fulcrumed as at 24, its depending vertical arm having ashouldered lower end 25 which normally engages the dog 17 toprevent the latter from rock'- ing downwardly so as to thus lock the shaft 14 and the supportinglever 16 in normalposition. The horizontal outstanding arm 26 of the bell crank lever 23 is apertured to receive a vertically disposed rod 27 attaching at its upper end above the arm 26 to the lower end of a core member 28, rod 27 being threaded for the reception, of an adjustable nut 29 which in the upward movement of this rod comes into engagement with the arm 26, and in this way rocks the bell crank lever 23 so as to withdraw its shouldered end 25 from beneath the dog 17 to free the latter.

The upper portion of the upright 22 of the main frame has one angular extension supporting a trip coil 30 in the form of a solenoid, of which the member 28 is the core, whereby when the coil 30 is energized the core 28 will be drawn upwardly and the releasing operation just previously described will be effected.

The upright 22 of the main frame is also provided with an upper angular portion 31 supporting a block 32 in which a knife edge 33 has a bearing, this knife edge being mounted at the upper end of a depending swinging arm or pendulum 34' at the lower end of which is a horizontally disposed electro-magnet 35, located between the lower portion of theupright 22 and the adjacent end of the tool or section of tool steel A when the latter is placed in proper position upon the. supporting lever 18 and against the stop 20. l

Intermediate its upper and lower ends the upright 22 has a laterally projecting con tact arm 36 carrying a contact member 37, which is normally in spaced relation to a similar contact member 38 of the pendulum 34, these contact members being engageable by movement of the latter toward the former when the electro-magnet 35 moves toward the adjacent endof the tool A to swing the pendulum 34 in a corresponding direction.

In Fig. 4 which is a simple electrical wiring diagram we have shown electrical arrangements which may be said'to include feeds 39 and 40 in communication with main circult-wires 41 and 42 through a manually side of which is grounded at 44 and also leads by a branch avire 45 to one side of the electro-magnet 35 The circuit wire 41 leads to the contact member 37 and also through a branch 46 and through resistance lamps 47 to the other side of the electrom-agnet 35, and inview ofthe fact that the contact members 37 and 38 conventionally shown are normally in spaced relation, the circuit is under ordinary circumstances with the switch 43 closed complete through the electromagnet 35, lamps 47 and branch wire 46.

heated condition, that is heated above the critical range. a slow cooling takes effect, the

parts remaining in inactive position until the tool has cooled and recrossed the critical range, regaining its magnetic qualities at or about that point, so that the electro-magnet 35 is attracted toward the same, the pendulum 34 swinging so as to bring the contact member 38 into engagement with the contact member 37. Instantly upon this con-tact'being made the circuit is completed through wire 41 contacts 37 and 38 and through the ground to the trip coil 30, and thence through wire 42, the trip coil being thus energized to draw the core 28 upwardly and withdraw the bell crank latch so as to free the dog 17 and permit shaft 14 to rock under the wei ht of the tool A, the latter dropping into the quenching or tempering fluid. Upon this movement the pendulum' 34 swings back to normal position, breaking the contact at 37, 38 and the supporting lever 16 returns to its upper position by virj tue of its counter weight 16*. 'When the contact 37,38 is broken, the core 28 of the so lenoid 30 drops, returning the bell crank latch 23 and shifting. its shouldered portion 25 below the dog 17 so as to thus hold the supporting lever 16 in upper operative posit1on for the receipt of the next tool to be tempered.

It is obvious from the foregolng that the I apparatus proposed by our invention is simple'and comparatively inexpensive andwill at the same time be eflicient and effective in use, clearly adapted to produce uniform results and entirely automatic in its operation from and after the placing of the tool or tool steel in proper relation to its working parts.

We claim:

' 1. An apparatus of the character described including a movable support for heated articles to be tempered, magnetic means subject to the influence of the heated article, a latch for normally holding the said support against movement, electrical means for releasing the latch and including a pair of normally spaced contacts, and means in connection with said magnetic means for causing engagement offsaid'contacts when the magnetic means move under the influence of the heated article.

2.,An apparatus of the character described comprising a movable support for the reception of heated articles to be tempered, an electro-magnet adjacent the said support and movable under the influence of the heated article, a movable support for the said electro-magnet, a latch for normally holding the support against movement, and electrical means for releasing the latch including normally spaced contacts one of which is movable with the support of the electro-magnet into and out of engagement with the other.

3. An apparatus of the character described comprising a movable support for heated articlesto be tempered, a frame in which the support is movable, a latch nor- -mally holding the support against movement, an electro-magnet Within the frame adjacent the said support and movable under influence of the heated article, a pendulum supported in the frame and upon which said electro-magnet is mounted, a stationary contact carried by the frame, a movable contact carried by the pendulum and normally in spaced relation to said stationary contact, and electrical means for releasing the latch in circuit with the said contact and rendered active when the said contacts are engaged.

4. An apparatus of the character described consisting of a main frame having bearings, a shaft rotatable in said bearings, a supporting lever secured to the shaft and projecting therefrom to receive heated articles to be tempered, a dog secured toand projecting from the shaft, a latch member mounted on the frame and engaging the dog to normally support the lever against movement, a pendulum suspended Within the frame, a magnetic member carried by the pendulum ad acent to said supporting lever and movable under the influence of the heated article, and electro-magnetic means for releasing the said latch member, said last named means including a pair of normally spaced contacts one of which is carried by and movable with the said pendulum into and out of engagement with the other.

CLARENCE ORRIN STEE. KARL HOLGER KOLHEDE. 

